Designer Births

"When are you going to be induced?" is usually the first question that a metropolitan mom asks when they see an expectant mother. What has changed so drastically in our society that women will force nature and perhaps endanger their child for a more convenient childbirth? Is this trend having an unnoticed effect on the way our children will grow up?

Designer Births or elective cesarean sections, are all the rage with celebrity mom's. It allows them to plan a normally uncontrollable event into their busy schedules.  It also comes with the added benefit of avoiding any abdominal stretching that would happen during a normal childbirth. It's the “Too Posh to Push” mentality. Victoria Beckham, also known as Posh Spice, rebuts by saying all three of her C-sections were doctor ordered. Celebrity moms are now adding other procedures, such as tummy tucks or breast augmentations, to get back to their pre-pregnancy shape faster so their public image doesn't take a hit.

When you begin the natural childbirth process your body starts releasing endorphins, little love hormones, that promote mother/baby bonding.  The drugs that they give you in the hospital, such as your epidural or pitocin, block the endorphins and hinder this natural process.  The pitocin is also known to put a lot of stress on the baby pushing doctors toward a C-section.

It's a startling statistic that 1 in every 3 women give birth by C-Section.  According to an article in the Chicago Tribune 90% of women that had their first child by C-Section will have their second the same way, even if the surgery isn't necessary.

Television programming is being used as a scare tactic against women. We're shown the panic and fear associated with having a baby and all the issues that can arise.  If the doctor recommends a change based on the safety of the baby what mother wouldn’t do what was best for her child?  The truth is that most women that have a natural birth plan when they enter the hospital are often put on a drastically different plan very quickly.  Our hospitals are set up to facilitate one type of birth.  OBGYN's are trained surgeons who are over qualified to perform a natural birth, on top of the frightening fact that most have never seen a non-surgical birth take place. With the rising number of birth defect lawsuits most doctors would rather "section you" than take the chance of leaving themselves vulnerable.  If this was a successful process would the US have an infant mortality rate of 6.9 babies dying out of every 1,000 live births placing us at the bottom of the list.

Women need to realize that home birth is for more than just hippies. If celebrity women, for example Gisele Buchchen,  who had an at home water birth, spoke out about their experience we might be able to break this trend.  Childbirth should be a beautiful, albeit, terrifying experience that isn't turned into an unneeded surgery.  We need to remember that natural is always better.